How To Write Every Day: Jerry Seinfeld And The Chain Method

The Chain Method, as it's come to be known, is Jerry Seinfeld's productivity secret--one of them at least!--but it is great for anyone who wants to engage in some sort of creative activity every day. What is it? I'll let Brad Isaac tell you.

When Brad Isaac was a young comic he asked Jerry Seinfeld if he had any tips.

[Jerry Seinfeld] said the way to be a better comic was to create better jokes and the way to create better jokes was to write every day. But his advice was better than that. He had a gem of a leverage technique he used on himself and you can use it to motivate yourself—even when you don't feel like it.

He revealed a unique calendar system he uses to pressure himself to write. Here's how it works.

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. "After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain."

"Don't break the chain," he said again for emphasis. (Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret)

I've been using the Chain Method for a few months and have had great success with it. I printed off a calendar using MS Word, one that has the whole year on a single page, and put it on my fridge. Each day that I meet my writing goal I put an "X" through that day.

My goal is to have an unbroken chain of "X"'s. If something comes up and I do break the chain, I try not to get too discouraged. After all, life happens. I try to get as many unbroken links in the chain as I can and it turns the work into a bit of a game, a private challenge to myself.

If you're having trouble writing every day, give it a try. It's inexpensive, easy, and you just might be surprised how well it works.

(I first read about Jerry Seinfeld's Chain Method from Michael Haynes blog. Thanks Michael!)

Other links you might like:
- 7 Tips On How To Get Your Guest Post Accepted
- Amazon's KDP Select: The Best Long-Term Strategy?
- 3 Ways To Create Incredible Characters

Photo credit: t r e v y

Writing, Publishing and Productivity: Links

I thought I'd try something different today and share links to articles I found interesting or helpful.

How Amazon Grew My Audience By More Than 24,000 Readers in Three Days
How to successfully market your books on Amazon.

What if your slogan is true?
Seth Godin on the importance of having a true story.

7 Writing & Productivity Articles Worth Reading
The best way to be productive is to stop reading this and write! But reading this article comes in a close second. :)

Book Spine Poetry: Your Turn
Poetry is writing! And this looks fun.

The Science of Sleep: Dreaming, Depression, and How REM Sleep Regulates Negative Emotions
This article has nothing to do with writing, it's about what may be one of the primary functions of dreaming: the regulation of emotion.

I hope it's sunny where you are and that a tall cold glass of lemonade is in your near future. That and writing. Cheers!

Other articles you might enjoy:
- Jane Friedman: How To Build An Awesome Twitter Bio
- Seth Godin on Creativity, Childhood and Heroes

Photo credit: Light Cue 23

7 Laws of Productivity

1. Don't hesitate. Don't get bogged down in the planning phase. Act and you'll get valuable feedback that only comes with DOING.

2. Start Small. Start small, test your idea/concept out, work out some of the bugs, get more funding, THEN go big.

3. Avoid project creep. At the beginning of your project set out what you want to accomplish. Don't add things! Do what you set out to do and then move on to the next project.

4. Maintain momentum. Work on your project a little bit each day. It can also help if you work on your project at the same time each day.

5. Don't try to do it all at once. If your project is going to take years to accomplish -- for instance, writing a novel -- break your project up into phases and just concentrate on finishing one phase at a time.

6. Don't slavishly follow any set of rules, even these. Know when you need to take a day off and do your own thing. You need experiences to feed your creative side and renew your will to finish your projects. Experiences stoke our creative energy.

7. Have fun!

My seven points were inspired by Behance Team over at 99% and her article, the 10 Laws of Productivity.

Photo Credit: bornstoryteller

Elizabeth S. Craig: The First Draft Is Supposed To Be A Disaster

Elizabeth S. Craig, author of Progressive Dinner Deadly, Pretty is as Pretty Dies, among others, has written a wonderful blog post on how to be productive entitled, appropriately, Perfectionism and Productivity.

Elizabeth writes:

I’ve always been pretty good about resisting perfectionism during first drafts. That’s because I’d never get anywhere with a book if I tried to make it perfect as I went. The first draft is supposed to be a disaster. I don’t look at what I wrote the day before, just end my writing time with a quick cheat sheet to tell me where I left off and where I need to pick up.

Read the rest of her article here: Perfectionism and Productivity.